Vault management method and system

ABSTRACT

A method of processing a plurality of articles of value within a cash processing center comprising sorting a plurality of articles of value according to one or more predetermined criteria, recording data corresponding to the sorted articles of value, physically associating the sorted articles of value with a radio frequency identification device, and electronically associating the data corresponding to the sorted articles of value with data corresponding to the radio frequency identification device.

The present invention relates to a vault management system for a cashprocessing centre. In particular, the present invention relates tosystems and methods of efficiently transferring articles of value withina cash processing centre and providing comprehensive audit information.

The management of cash and other articles of value is vital for thefunctioning of a healthy modern economy. Often the processing andmanagement of cash and other articles of value is unseen by the consumeryet plays an important role in a variety of sectors including retail,banking, gaming, and government. Most forms of management involvecontrolling and securing the circulation of cash, such as banknotes andcoins, and other articles of value such as cheques, tokens or bonds.

The circulation of cash is typically centred on the secure deposit andstorage of quantities of currency. This process is typically performedat one or more secure storage areas or vaults. These vaults may be asafe or physically secure building. Cash and other articles of value aredeposited into a vault and then subsequently retrieved from the vaultwhen required. Each vault may be owned and managed by a bank or cashmanagement company. The vault is typically integrated into a larger cashprocessing centre which is further responsible for handling andverifying cash deposits and preparing cash withdrawals for delivery tocustomers. A cash processing centre will operate in association withcash in transit (CIT) organisations which are responsible for thesecurity of the cash to and from the centre.

For example, a large retail establishment, at the end of a period oftrading, will typically accrue a quantity of cash and other articles ofvalue through retail transactions. As it is impractical and unsafe tokeep this cash on the retail premises the cash will typically be sent toa cash processing centre, such as a bank or central deposit, using a CIToperator. The cash processing centre is then responsible for receivingthe cash from the CIT operator and storing it in a safe location. Oncethe quantities of cash have been verified and stored, the verified totalof the deposited cash may be credited to the bank account of the retailestablishment. In a similar manner, at the beginning of a period oftrading, a retail establishment may order a certain quantity of cash tostock the tills or points of sale. This cash will typically be providedby a suitable cash processing centre nearby. At a time stipulated by thecash order the required quantity of cash will be retrieved from thevault and sent to the retail establishment using a CIT operator. Oncethe cash has been retrieved from the vault and verified it may then bedebited from the bank account of the retail establishment. The sameprocesses are also used by high street banks and post offices.

When operating a cash processing centre there are several inherentproblems. The first of these is the difficulty in keeping track andcontrol of all the deposits and orders that flow through the vault. Forexample, a medium to large cash deposit centre may hold thousands if notmillions of pounds in a vault at any one time. With such largequantities of cash it is very easy for orders and deposits to be lost orfor cash to be stolen by unscrupulous employees or malicious parties. Asthe cash processing centre would be liable to pay out for any shortfallsin cash amount there is thus a requirement to keep track of all depositsand to prevent theft and loss.

A second problem that arises when dealing with cash processing, andwhich especially arises with large quantities of cash, is how to processdeposits and orders in the quickest possible time. Quick processing isessential in order to prevent cash shortages in the customers requiringcash and also to prevent backlogs within the cash processing centreitself. Many cash processing centres are often constrained by the hoursof opening of modern retailers and banks. For example, it is preferablefor customers to send cash amounts for deposit after closing in theevening and receive cash orders before opening in the morning.Additionally, much cash processing occurs when customers are closed onthe weekend. Hence there is a requirement to quickly perform a depositand process cash orders within the cash processing centre, not only toreduce costs, but to keep the supply of cash fluid.

A third problem when dealing with cash processing in a cash processingcentre is how to efficiently manage a large number of transactionswhilst minimising the cash held on site. Modern large cash processingcentres can receive hundreds of orders and hundreds of deposits everyday requiring large amounts of available stock. If a large stock isrequired this will increase the attractiveness of the centre to thievesas well as require large amounts of space to be physically secured.

Unfortunately, most cash processing centres involving a vault operatedusing antiquated technology and procedures which are not able to addressthe above problems and are not able to keep up with the demands of amodern economy.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of processing a plurality of articles of value within a cashprocessing centre comprising:

-   -   a. sorting a plurality of articles of value according to one or        more predetermined criteria;    -   b. recording data corresponding to the sorted articles of value;    -   c. physically associating the sorted articles of value with a        radio frequency identification device; and    -   d. electronically associating the data corresponding to the        sorted articles of value with data corresponding to the radio        frequency identification device.

Preferably the method comprises grouping the sorted articles of valuewith a grouping device, such as a rubber or polymer band or strap or ametal clip. The radio frequency identification device is typicallycoupled to the grouping device, either by embedding the identificationdevice into the material of the grouping device or by physicallyattaching the identification device to the grouping device. In someembodiments the method may further comprise: sealing the sorted articlesof value within a container; and retrieving data corresponding to thesorted articles of value without unsealing the container by reading datacorresponding to the radio frequency identification device from outsidethe container using a radio frequency reader.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is providedan apparatus for sorting and grouping a plurality of articles of valuecomprising:

-   -   a processing unit adapted to sort the plurality of articles of        value and to generate processing data;    -   a grouping unit adapted to group a plurality of sorted articles        using a grouping device, the grouping device being coupled to a        radio frequency identification device; and    -   a controller configured to associate the processing data        corresponding to a grouped plurality of articles of value with        data associated with the radio frequency identification device        coupled to the grouping device used to group the plurality of        articles of value.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a radio frequency scanningdevice adapted to read data from a radio frequency identificationdevice. In some embodiments the grouping device may comprise a strap,such as a polymer or rubber band or a metallic clip. The apparatus mayalso further comprise a second grouping unit to further group aplurality of previously grouped articles of value, i.e. to group anumber of grouped units.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of depositing articles of value within a cash processing centre,the method comprising:

-   -   a. recording deposit data at a first location, the deposit data        corresponding to one or more articles of value to be deposited        at a second location;    -   b. electronically associating the deposit data with data stored        upon a radio frequency identification device;    -   c. physically associating the one or more articles of value to        be deposited with the radio frequency identification device;    -   d. transporting the one or more articles of value to be        deposited to the second location;    -   e. reading data from the radio frequency identification device        at the second location; and    -   f. obtaining the deposit data using the read data.

In some embodiments the step of recording deposit data may comprise:processing the one or more articles of value to be deposited using abanknote sorter; and generating a deposit data record based onprocessing data provided by the banknote sorter. The step of physicallyassociating the one or more articles of value to be deposited with theradio frequency identification device may also be performedautomatically by the banknote sorter. The method may additionallyfurther comprise: processing the one or more articles of value to bedeposited using a banknote sorter at the second location; andreconciling the deposit data obtained using the read data with theprocessing data provided by the banknote sorter at the second location.

In some embodiments the step of electronically associating the depositdata comprises writing data to the memory of the radio frequencyidentification device and the step of obtaining the deposit datacomprises obtaining deposit data using data read from the memory of theradio frequency identification device. The data stored upon the radiofrequency identification device may comprise a unique identifier andobtaining deposit data may comprise reading the unique identifier fromthe radio frequency identification device and using the uniqueidentifier to retrieve the deposit data. Retrieving deposit data mayadditionally comprises retrieving deposit data from a central databaseusing the unique identifier as an index.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of tracking one or more articles within a cash processingcentre, the cash processing centre comprising a plurality of receiversfor radio frequency communication, the method comprising:

-   -   a. coupling a radio frequency identification device to an        article, the radio frequency identification device having an        unique identifier;    -   b. receiving a radio frequency signal from the radio frequency        identification device at at least two receivers, the radio        frequency signal comprising the unique identifier;    -   c. using the received radio frequency signal, together with the        received unique identifier, to determine the location of the        radio frequency identification device; and    -   d. updating the location of the article based on the location of        the radio frequency identification device.

In some embodiments the method uses trilateration, wherein the cashprocessing centre comprises at least three receivers for radio frequencycommunication and the method further comprises: receiving a radiofrequency signal from the radio frequency identification device at atleast three access points; and using the signal strength of the receivedradio frequency signal received at each receiver, together with thereceived unique identifier, to determine the location of the radiofrequency identification device. In other embodiments the receiverscomprise directional receivers and step c) comprises determining thelocation of the radio frequency device using triangulation. The locatedarticle may be one of: a cage, a scanning device, an employee, one ormore articles of value, a container, a trolley, or a banknote sorter.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided astorage unit for containers for use in a cash processing centre, thecontainers containing one or more articles of value, the storage unitcomprising:

-   -   a storage area for one or more containers,        the storage unit characterized by:    -   one or more radio frequency reading devices configured to        wirelessly read data from a radio frequency identification        device;    -   wherein, in use, each container has an associated radio        frequency identification device, the radio frequency        identification device storing data associated with properties of        the articles of value within the container; and    -   in use, the properties of any articles of value stored upon the        storage unit may be retrieved by processing data read by the one        or more radio frequency reading devices.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of tracking articles of value within a cash processing centrecomprising:

-   -   a. coupling one or more articles of value with a first radio        frequency identification device;    -   b. coupling a unit adapted to store articles of value with a        second radio frequency identification device;    -   c. reading data associated with both the first and second radio        frequency devices; and    -   d. recording that the one or more articles of value are stored        upon the unit based on the read data.

Several examples of a number of methods and systems according to thepresent invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a process diagram of an exemplary cash processing cycleaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a process diagram of an exemplary extended cash processingcycle according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary cash processing centreconfigured to implement the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D is a schematic diagram of an extended exemplary cash processingcentre configured to implement the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram of an alternative extended exemplary cashprocessing centre configured to implement the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware configurationfor implementing the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware configuration toimplement the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary transfer processaccording to the first and second embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary acknowledgementprocess according to the first and second embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary cash reception processaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary cash depositoperation according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary count operationaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary cash order processingoperation according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary cash despatchoperation according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware configuration ofa third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary deposit processingoperation according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary currency sorting machinefor implementing the exemplary deposit processing operation of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a typical stack of banknotes used inthe exemplary deposit processing operation of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary deposit processingoperation according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart demonstrating an exemplary processing operationaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary radio frequencyidentification chip;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams respectively illustrating a front andside view of an exemplary storage unit for use within a cash processingcentre;

FIG. 16 is a diagram of an exemplary employee badge incorporating aradio frequency identification device;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware configuration ofa wireless trilateration system;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary workstation running alocation module; and

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary tracking method usinga radio frequency identification device.

FIG. 1A displays a number of processes involved in the management of avault within a cash processing centre according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention. The cash processing cycle 100 therein isconfigured to complement the typical physical layout of a cashprocessing centre. The cash processing centre may be run by a variety oforganisations. These include central banks, commercial banks, cash intransit (CIT) companies and transport and leisure companies. A schematicdiagram of the ground plan of an exemplary cash processing centre isshown in FIG. 1C. This ground plan is provided as an example only andother differing cash processing centre designs may also be used with themanagement processes of the present invention. Cash deposit centre 105comprises secure vault area 121, deposit area 111 and order processingarea 131. The secure vault area 121 may comprise, but is not limited to,a safe, a physically secure room or a physically secure area. Thedeposit area 111 is an area for preparing cash for deposit into thevault and the order processing area 131 is an area for preparing cashorders. The deposit area 111 and the order processing area 131 areseparated from the vault area 121 by a physical boundary 141. Physicalboundary 141 has two respective openings: entry point 116 into the vaultarea 121 and exit point 126 into the order processing area 131. Theseentry and exit points may be provided by one way doors or other suitablesecure gateway apparatus. Deposit area 111 may also be separated fromorder processing area 131 by physical boundary 142, although in someimplementations the two areas may comprise a single room.

The cash processing cycle 100 has three processes that are typicallyperformed in the three respective areas of FIG. 1C. However, it ispossible that all three processes may be carried out within the securedboundary of the vault. The cash processing cycle 100 first comprisesdeposit processing 110. This step is typically performed in the depositarea 111, wherein cash and other articles of value are prepared fordeposit into the vault or secure area 121. This preparation may involve:unloading cash from containers; counting, verification and validation;and preparing the cash in a suitable form for deposit, such as bundlingthe notes in set quantities of denominations. The articles for depositmay comprise articles of value such as coins, banknotes, cheques, tokensor bonds. The flow of cash into vault is illustrated by arrow 115. Thisrepresents the physical passage 117 of cash from the deposit area 111 tothe vault 121 via entry point 116. Boundary line 140 represents afigurative boundary between the stage of deposit processing 110 and thevault processing 120. Boundary line 140 may reflect the physicalboundary 141 between the deposit area 111 and the vault 120 or maysimply be a means of delimiting the two processes. The figurativeboundary is used as part of the transfer process described in relationto FIG. 3.

The cash processing cycle 100 next comprises vault processing 120. Atthis stage cash received by the vault 121, for example via entry point116, may be further counted, verified and validated and placed inbundles of denominations suitable for storage. The vault 121 maycomprise one or more cash deposit apparatus such as a TCR (Teller CashRecycler) Twinsafe or “Vertera”™ apparatus supplied by De La RueInternational. Alternatively, the vault 121 may comprise a regular safeor vault, wherein documents of value are routed in and out of the safeor vault by hand. In this case vault processing 120 may involvedepositing received cash into a suitable deposit apparatus. Cash remainsin the vault 121 until it is required to fulfil a cash order. At thispoint the vault processing 120 involves preparing the required amount ofcash to send for order processing 130. The flow of cash from the stageof vault processing 120 to the stage of order processing 130 isrepresented by arrow 125 and again involves the crossing of figurativeboundary 140. This transfer 125 may reflect the physical removal 127 ofcash from a safe or secure area 121 via exit point 126 and the transferof this cash across physical boundary 141 to the order processing area131.

The third stage of the cash processing cycle 100 is order processing130. At this stage, quantities of cash are prepared to supply customers,such as, amongst others, retailers and banks. A cash order may bescheduled regularly in the manner of a standing order or may be preparedindividually based on a received order. The quantity of cash receivedfrom the vault area 121 will typically be counted, bundled and placed insuitable containers or bags for delivery.

An example of suitable hardware that may be used to implement thepresent invention is illustrated in FIG. 2A. Vault management system 200comprises a vault management server 210 upon which the vault managementsoftware operates. The vault management server 210 is operably connectedto database 215. The database may be stored on one or more local orremote storage mediums or devices. Typically, vault management server210 comprises a standard hardware configuration running MicrosoftWindows 2000/2003 or an Oracle-supported host and database 215 comprisesan Oracle or SQL Server compatible database. However, any suitablesoftware platform known in the art may be used to implement theinvention. The processes used to generate data records and populate thevault management database are discussed subsequently. Sources of datainclude, but are not limited to, order forecasting systems, high-speedbanknote sorters, coin sorters, desktop banknote and coin sorters,document capture systems, CIT providers, remote bank and/or storelocations. The vault management database may also be adapted tointerface with internal or external accounting or data warehousingsystems.

Vault management server 210 typically further comprises a networkadapter to connect to a wired or wireless network 231, using standardssuch as Ethernet or 802.11g. Network 231 is typically a local areanetwork (LAN) covering the cash processing centre 105. In FIG. 2Anetwork 231 comprises a first network hub 235A connected to a secondnetwork hub 235B over a wide area network (WAN) 245. Vault managementserver 210 may be connected to first network hub 235A via a LANconnection as shown in FIG. 2A or alternatively may be located remotelyto the cash processing centre 105 and connected to first network hub235A via a WAN connection. The network 231 is presented as an exampleand any suitable form of network topology may be used in practice.Network hub 235A is connected to a number of networked devices 220 and230 and these network connections may also be wired or wireless usingknown protocols. The network may also be secured using methods known inthe art.

Networked devices 220 and 230 comprise networked client workstations220A and 220B. Such workstations are typically located in the areas ofthe cash processing centre 105 shown in FIG. 1C: for example workstation220A may be located in deposit area 111 and client workstation 220B maybe located in order area 131. Additional peripherals may also beconnected to client workstations 220. In FIG. 2A client workstation 220Ais connected to barcode reader 225 and client workstation 220B isconnected to print device 240. Any number of peripherals may beconnected to a client workstation using any known protocols.

A number of banknote counters 230 may also be connected to the network231, either through client workstations 220A and 220B or through using abanknote counter 230B with network capability, such as counter 230B,connected to the network 231 via network hub 235. These banknotecounters may be a 2600, EV86, Evolution™, nVision or Kalebra modelcounter manufactured by De La Rue International Limited or may be anysuitable one, two or three or more pocket counter that is adapted tocount, validate and/or process batches of banknotes. Networked banknotecounter 230B may be located in the any of the cash processing centreareas shown in FIG. 1C.

The example shown in FIG. 2A is for illustrative purposes only and thenumber of client workstations 220 and/or counting devices 230 may varyaccording to the particular cash deposit centre involved. For example,the deposit area 111 may comprise two or more client workstations 220Awherein each workstation is connected to a barcode reading device 225and a print device such as print device 240. Alternatively the depositarea 111 may comprise a plurality of banknote counters 230 all connectedto network 231.

Vault management system 200 may also comprise a remote clientworkstation 220C as shown in FIG. 2A. This is an optional feature andneed not be included in all implementations. This workstation isconnected to hub 235B which is connected to the network 231 via a widearea network 245 such as the Internet. Typically, security will beenforced by using a virtual private network (VPN) operating on top ofstandard communication protocols, such as TCP/IP. Client workstation220C then allows access to the vault management software running onserver 210 from a remote location.

The vault management system of the present invention is implementedusing a number of integrated software modules that correspond to each ofthe processing stages illustrated in FIG. 1A. For example, a systembased on FIG. 1A comprises three modules corresponding to stages 110,120 and 130. These software modules may be wholly or partly implementedas software processes or interfaces running on vault management server210. Each client workstation 220 is able to connect to the vaultmanagement server 210 and may be a fat or thin client. Each moduletypically has its own user interface, typically a graphical userinterface (GUI), that is presented to an operator working upon one ofthe client workstations 220. Each workstation 220 may be restricted toonly show the GUI relevant to the area in which the workstation islocated, for example workstation 220A may be restricted to only show anoperator the GUI associated with the deposit processing module. Eachmodule allows the system to acquire data related to one of the threeprocessing stages, the data being acquired by processes performed by anoperator interfacing with the GUI of the relevant module.

As well as a suite of modules corresponding to each of the cashmanagement processes of FIG. 1A the vault management software may alsooptionally comprise a number of additional modules that enablecustomisable configuration and provide standing data used by the system.These modules may be one or more of: a security module for managing useraccess and authorisation levels; a definitions module to manageadministration of specific terminology and fixed data; a GUIconfiguration module to manage the appearance, behaviour and dynamics ofeach GUI; and a customer database to manage customer specific datareference by the vault management software.

The operations performed in the deposit processing 110 will now bedescribed in relation to FIGS. 5A and 5B. The deposit processing 110 isperformed on one or more quantities of cash that have been received fromoutside of the cash processing centre. The cash is received in one ormore containers that can vary in size and form. These containers may beorganised in a nested hierarchy. For example, the cash processing centremay use cages, bulk bags and satchels, wherein a cage may hold one ormore bulk bags and a bulk bag may contain one or more satchels.Alternatively, the cash processing centre may use containers, bags andenvelopes or a combination of all six container types. Each of thecontainers may have its own individual identifier, for example in theform of a serial number encoded within a barcode present on the outsideof the container.

Each received quantity of cash has an associated deposit slip. Thisdeposit slip lists one or more properties related to the received cash,for example, the originating customer or depositor, the declared depositamount and the date of deposit. Each container containing a quantity ofcash also contains a deposit slip. Containers containing othercontainers may also contain deposit slips relating to the cumulativedeposit amount of all contained containers. The deposit slip may alsofurther comprise a one or two dimensional barcode. This barcode mayencode a serial number or actual deposit information. At the depositstage the quantity of cash within each container is linked to thedepositor and verified against the deposit amount declared on thedeposit slip.

FIG. 5A shows a method for obtaining the deposit data associated with adeposit. At step 505 an operator logs into the deposit module using aclient workstation, such as workstation 220A. The login procedure mayinvolve entering a user name and password. In some embodiments theworkstation 220A may be connected to a biometric device adapted to reada biometric identifier associated with the operator. This identifier maybe a finger print, a finger or palm vein structure, an iris scan or avoice print (amongst others). Hitachi Ltd provides a number of readingdevices which may be used to read the biometric identifier. Thebiometric identifier is then used instead of a username and/or passwordto log in to the relevant software module.

The operator then selects a deposit container for deposit processing510, opens the container and retrieves the deposit slip. A new depositrecord is then created if no pre-existing record exists. The informationpresent on the deposit slip is then obtained 515 using one or more ofautomatic means, for example scanning a barcode 515A present on adeposit slip or applying optical character recognition (OCR) to acaptured image of the deposit software, or using manual means, forexample entering the information 515B, 515C into the deposit module GUI.As a deposit operator will regularly spend a large proportion of theirtime entering deposit information all functions within the depositmodule are accessible with keystrokes or by assigning hot keys. If abarcode is present then the operator can use a barcode scanner 225 toeither retrieve a serial number or the deposit data itself. A serialnumber may be linked to a deposit record generated by the depositingcustomer or may identify the depositor. Other data that may be recordedinclude a till, cashier, store or branch identifier. Once the depositorinformation has been entered then the deposit record is updated 520. Ifit is not assigned already the cash deposit is assigned to the currentoperator by associating an operator identifier, such as a user name,with the deposit record. This may be achieved by associating the username of the current active operator with the deposit record. A cashdeposit may also be assigned to an area, for example deposit area 111,as well as, or instead of an operator. This makes the current operatorand/or area responsible for the cash deposit until a transfer isperformed.

The data present on the deposit slip may also be obtained usingpre-advisement. Pre-advisement involves the customer pre-advising thecash processing centre on the nature of a deposit. Typically, this maybe performed using a web interface wherein the customer enters thedeposit amount and container identifiers while preparing the deposit.This deposit data is then linked to the cash processing centre receivingthe deposit. When a container is subsequent sent and received by thecash processing centre the pre-entered deposit information can beretrieved upon container identification, e.g. when the containers makingup the deposit are scanned by an operator.

After initial deposit processing a count and verification processbegins. The count and verification process is illustrated in FIG. 5B andis performed by an operator interacting with an adapted GUI of thedeposit module. The method 501 begins at step 520 with the retrieval ofcash, typically in the form of banknotes, from the selected depositcontainer. The cash is then counted at stage 535. Counting may beperformed manually or, as is typically the case, may be performed by anon-line or off-line banknote counter 230. If the cash processing centreis configured to receive and process cheques then cheque imaging systemsand software may also be integrated into the vault management system toprovide count information for cheque deposits.

In a manual count the operator counts and inspects the cash from thecontainer and enters the results of the count into the deposit moduleGUI. Typically, the cash is sorted into a number of denominations andthe total number of notes and cash value of each denomination isrecorded. The fitness of each note can also be inspected and the serialnumbers recorded. If a banknote counter 230A is currently connected tothe client workstation 220 at which the current operator is operating,i.e. is on-line, this will be shown within the deposit module GUI andthe banknote counter can be used to generate data documentingcharacteristics of counted notes. These can be, amongst others,denomination, fitness, and authentication characteristics. To use anon-line banknote counter the operator places the retrieved banknotes onbanknote counter 230A. The banknote counter 230A is then able to countand/or verify the banknotes and the data generated by the banknotecounter 230A is sent back to the client workstation 220A to populate thecount data at stage 540. Alternatively banknote counter 230A can bedisconnected from the client workstation 220A, i.e. used off-line. Inthis case the banknotes will still be counted by the banknote counterbut the operator will manually enter the data on the banknote counterdisplay. If the banknote counter 230A is adapted to authenticate thebanknotes and identify counterfeit notes then data related tocounterfeit notes may either be passed automatically to the depositmodule from the banknote counter if the counter is on-line or mayotherwise be manually entered into the adapted deposit GUI based on datapresented to the user on the banknote counter display. Data oncounterfeit notes can then be printed by a user or supervisor to complywith legal reporting requirements. If an error occurs when using abanknote counter an operator is also able to edit any captured datamanually by interfacing with the deposit module GUI.

After the banknotes have been processed at step 535 and the count datahas been populated at step 540 the populated count data is compared withthe deposit amount entered into the deposit module from the depositslip. This is performed at step 545. At this stage, to provide extrasecurity, the result of the comparison may be reviewed by a supervisorat step 550. If this is the case a supervisor is summoned and logs intothe vault management system. Once the supervisor is logged in they arepresented with a screen summarising all information relevant to thecurrent deposit. They are then able to review any difference foundbetween the counted amount and the amount on the deposit slip. If adifference is found at step 555 then this is displayed to the supervisorand the supervisor is asked to enter a reason for the difference at step560. If no difference is found then the supervisor may be asked simplyto confirm the count data. Whatever the result, the supervisor thencaptures an image of the deposit slip at step 565. This may also beperformed by the operator. This typically involves placing the depositslip underneath a digital camera connected to client workstation 220A.The digital camera is adapted to take a picture of the deposit slip andstore it with the deposit record in deposit database 215. After thecount has been performed the operator in the deposit processing area 111the cash is transferred to the vault area 121. Typically, afterprocessing, the cash is retained in a secure container whose ownershipis attributed to the operator, machine or area responsible for depositprocessing.

The transfer of cash from the deposit area 111 to the vault area 121involves a transfer process as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thetransfer process is used to transfer responsibility for the cashdeposits from deposit processing 110 to vault processing 120. Thetransfer process performed by the party wishing to transfer a cashdeposit, in this case an operator DP within deposit area 111, is shownin FIG. 3A. The operator begins by initiating a transfer module uponclient workstation 220A as shown in step 305. The operator then selectsthe source of the transfer in step 310. The source may be an individual,an area or a safe, a safe being a subdivision of the vault. Theselection may be achieved by either selecting the relevant user name orarea from a dropdown list, retrieving the current logged in user name orarea from the client workstation operating parameters. Once the sourceof the transfer has been selected the containers and/or cash depositscurrently assigned to the source may be displayed to the user via in aninformation panel within the GUI.

At step 315 the operator selects a destination, which may also be anindividual, an area or a safe, a safe being a subdivision of the vault.For example, the destination may be a user V in the vault area 121. Thisselection may again be made through the use of a dropdown menu. Once auser and/or area have been selected as a suitable destination thecontainers and/or cash deposits belonging to the selected destinationmay be displayed in an information panel.

Once the source of the transfer and the destination of the transfer havebeen selected in steps 310 and 315, the number of items to transfer isthen entered in to the transfer module GUI at step 320. These items canbe containers or discrete bundled quantities of banknotes representing acash deposit. As discussed previously each container has an identifierand this identifier can be in the form of a barcode. Each bundledquantity of cash may also have an identifier in the form of a barcode.Once the number of items to transfer has been entered at step 320, theidentifiers corresponding to the items that are to be transferred areentered into the transfer module GUI. For example, if barcodes are usedthese can be scanned at step 325 to obtain serial numbers identifyingeach item. As each item is identified it may be passed across thephysical boundary 141 separating the deposit area 111 from the vaultarea 121. Each identified item is counted and the total number ofidentified items is compared with the quantity entered in step 320. Onceall the items for transfer have been identified then the transfer isconfirmed at step 330.

In order to complete the transfer process a transfer must beacknowledged by or at the destination. In the present example, thiscould be operator V in the vault area 121. An acknowledgement can beperformed in one of three ways:

-   -   The system can be set up to automatically acknowledge any        transfers as soon as they have been confirmed by the operator at        step 330.    -   The receiving party can follow the steps shown in FIG. 3B. At        step 350 the destination operator logs into the vault management        system via a client workstation 220 and initiates an        acknowledgement module 350. In certain configurations the        acknowledgement module automatically identifies the current user        and/or destination area based on the operating parameters of the        current client workstation and in other configurations the        acknowledgement displays a series of users, areas or safes for        the operator to select. Once one of a user, area or safe has        been selected the current number of transfers awaiting        acknowledgement are displayed. The operator then selects one of        these transfers at step 355 and interacts with the GUI of the        acknowledgement module to acknowledge the transfer.    -   In addition to the steps of FIG. 3B described above the        receiving party may also re-identify the items at step 365 in        order to acknowledge the receipt. For example, the barcodes of        two bulk bags received from the deposit area 111 may only be        acknowledged when their barcodes are scanned using a barcode        scanner 225 connected to a client operating system 220 present        in vault area 121. This option is the most secure and means that        items can only be acknowledged once they are physically        received.

This transfer process described above manages the physicalresponsibility or “ownership” of containers and/or cash deposits. Thisallows all physical movements of containers and/or cash deposits betweenoperators and/or areas of the cash processing centre to be recorded bythe vault management system as database records. The vault managementsystem running on vault management server 210 stores records of eachtransfer and each acknowledgement in database 215. Thus these recordscan be queried at any time in order to investigate a transfer process.For example, if a transfer has been initiated by one party but thetransfer has not been received by a second party then the transferrecords for the initiated transfer can be examined and details such asthe container identifiers, cash amount, date, time, user and/or area canbe retrieved to aid investigation.

Once the cash is in the vault area 121 it will often be processed andstored. This may involve removing the cash and re-bundling sets ofbanknotes in set bundles of a particular denomination and a particularfitness. For example, banknotes may be sorted into those that are fitfor automatic teller machines (ATMs) or those that comply with theBanknote Recycling Framework (BRF).

The vault management system further comprises a vault module that allowsthe physical inventory of the vault or secure area of the cashprocessing centre to be accurately represented in real time. As all cashdeposits are transferred to the vault the vault module is able tocalculate the exact quantity of cash within the vault by using the countand denomination records, linked to the transferred item, that weregenerated during deposit processing 110. To facilitate management of thevault inventory the vault module further has the ability to generatevirtual areas or safes within the vault area 121. Items such ascontainers or bundled quantities of cash can then be assigned tospecific virtual areas through the transfer process of FIGS. 3A and 3B.For example, virtual areas could be generated to hold reserve notes, newnotes, coins, ATM fit notes, notes for a particular customer, notes fordestruction, old issues of notes, containers, bags, cages, or torepresent designated areas such as processing areas or order preparationareas. This can enable management to view all available cash of a giventype at a given time, for example all ATM fit cash and then manage thecash flow process accordingly. These virtual areas may have a physicalcounterpart but this need not be the case, so quantities of cash presentin a set physical area of the vault may belong to different virtualareas or safes.

Vault processing 120 may also involve reclassification of cash media.For example, 100×$1 coins may be reclassified as a 1×$100 rolled coinpackage. This can help to simplify and refine later order processing.Alternatively, if fitness and authentication sorts are not performed aspart of the deposit processing 110 then the resultant quantities of cashwill be set as “unclassified”. Within vault processing 120 thesequantities of cash can be further sorted for fitness and authenticationand the results of the sort process can be used to perform the mediareclassification. This can enable the true state of the cash or mediawithin the vault to be ascertained. Additionally, by altering the stageat which media classification is performed the processing workload canbe actively split between deposit and vault processing.

Cash remains in the vault area 121 until it is required to fulfil a cashorder. FIG. 6 illustrates the steps involved in order processing 130. Acash order comprises a request for a set quantity of cash from acustomer. This request may be for a variety of articles of value, suchas coins, notes or bonds and may also include an order for associatedservicing, such as ATM servicing. At step 605 the details of the cashorder are received or generated. Cash orders may be one off orders ormay be part of a regular standing order. Cash orders are stored asrecords in an order database which may be implemented as part of vaultmanagement database 215. Orders may be received via a variety ofcommunication means, for example facsimile, telephone, email etc, andmay be manually or automatically entered into the order database. Ordersmay also be automatically generated based on forecasting systems thatinterface with the cash management system.

Once a cash order is received an order processing module verifies thecustomer making the request and checks that the customer is on, or canbe assigned to, a valid delivery route. The delivery date of the orderis also checked to confirm that it is possible make the delivery and ifthe delivery date is not possible an error is returned. The order amountis checked against the inventory of the vault 121 to confirm that thereis enough stock to complete the order. Orders are then queued andgrouped by delivery date.

Before an order can be prepared it needs to be activated and allocatedto an operator within the cash processing centre. This is typicallyperformed by a supervisor using a client workstation such as clientworkstation 220B within the order processing area 131. The supervisorlogs into an order preparation module, which forms part of the orderprocessing module, and is presented with a list of orders available forpreparation. Commonly, the list is filtered to show a subset of orders,for example those needing to be prepared for the current day, and thesupervisor can view the details of each order by selecting one of thelist. To activate an order at step 610 the supervisor selects the orderfrom the list and confirms that it is to be activated. At this stageorders can be assigned one of a plurality of types which will dictateany special preparation requirements. Once an order is activated itsstatus is changed to awaiting preparation. This status change is a oneway process and activated orders cannot be modified or deleted.

Once an order has been activated operators within the vault area 121prepare the cash required to make up the order. At this stage the systemmay also perform an inventory check. This may involve counting out theamount of cash stipulated in the order. After the cash has been preparedit awaits collection by an operator from the order processing area 131.

Meanwhile, after activation of the order, the supervisor proceeds toallocate the cash order to a user and/or an area. Typically, this is anoperator within order processing area 131. To allocate an order at step620 the supervisor selects an activated order and then selects therequired user and/or area in a similar manner to the selection of adestination in the transfer process. It is also possible to allocatemore than one cash order. Once an order has been allocated then a picklist or manifest can be printed at step 625. The pick list containsdetails of the cash order and may have a barcode encoding a uniqueserial number associated with the order. Typically, the pick list isprinted by the printing device 240 connected to the client workstation220B within the order processing area 131. The pick list may comprise anumber of individual manifests corresponding to each required container.

Once the responsible operator receives the pick list they are able toretrieve the cash required to make up the order from the vault. Thisrequires a transfer process 630 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Theprinting of a print list at stage 625 may automatically generate atransfer process to transfer banknotes from the vault area 121 to theorder processing area 131. Alternatively the transfer process can beperformed by an operator in the vault area 121 at the request of theorder processing operator. In any case, the stages in FIG. 3A areperformed with regard to a number of prepared bundles of banknotes. Theoperator within the order processing area 131 then receives thebanknotes and the transfer process can be acknowledged by the orderprocessing operator as shown in FIG. 3B.

At step 635 a number of containers required to hold the cash order areprepared. The number and type of containers required may be calculatedautomatically when the order is activated and may be present on the picklist. For example, orders can be supplied in cassettes, bulk bags orsatchels. The containers are retrieved from a stock of fresh or un-usedcontainers and these may be present in the order processing area 131 ormay be retrieved from the vault area 121. As with received deposits,each container is typically assigned a unique identifier. This may beencoded as a barcode. The barcode may already be present on thecontainer or the client workstation 220B within the order processingarea 131 may generate and print new barcodes using a connected labelprinter. Hence, before picking an order the allocated operator isprovided with a pick list, a number of identified containers and aquantity of cash from the vault.

An activated order can only be prepared by an allocated operator. Hencethe picking process begins when the allocated operator logs into aclient workstation, such as workstation 220B, in order processing area131. The allocated operator is then presented with an order preparationscreen. This displays all pending orders that have been allocated to thecurrent operator in an information panel. To perform the picking processat step 640 the allocated operator first selects a pick list and entersthe pick list identifier. This may involve scanning the barcode presenton the pick list. The entering of the identifier brings up the detailsof the order on the operator's screen. These details include the numberof containers required and the amount of cash or number of banknotes tobe placed in each container. The operator begins with a first ordercontainer and enters the container identifier associated with the firstorder container. This may involve scanning a barcode related to thatcontainer. The operator is then informed of the quantity of cash to beplaced within the container. If the cash is in the form of bundledbanknotes a number of bundles can be taken and placed into the containerto pick the order. If the cash is provided in the form of aheterogeneous group of banknotes or other documents then the cash may becounted by an attached banknote counter, such as counter 230C. If saidcounter is connected to the client workstation then the order processingmodule may automatically pass the required count amount to the counter.The operator then need only place a quantity of banknotes upon thecounter and the required amount will be counted into an appropriateoutput hopper. The operator can then simply remove the banknotes fromthe output hopper and place them in the associated container. If eachcontainer has its own manifest or the order is complete, the appropriatepick list is placed within the container and the container is thensealed. The pick process is then repeated for any additional containersthat make up the order.

After the picking process a balance is calculated for the user based ona comparison of the quantity of cash received from the vault with thequantity of cash placed within the one or more containers. Thesequantities should be equal and if they are not then a supervisor can becalled over to log in and confirm the reason for this difference. If anerror occurs during the picking process then picked quantities of cashcan be retrieved from assigned containers but the associated containeridentity is destroyed and a new container identity is generated. The endresult of the order processing process 130 is one or more containersfilled with a quantity of cash that fulfils a given customer order.

FIG. 1B illustrates an extended cash management process 101 according toa second embodiment of the present invention. This process 101 providesan extension to the cash management process 100 shown in FIG. 1A. Theextended cash management process 101 further comprises the processes ofcash reception 150 and cash despatch 160. The incoming delivery of cashdeposits and the outgoing despatch of cash orders may be performed bythe same organisation that runs the cash processing centre or may beperformed by a third party. Although the present example is describedwith the inclusion of the reception 150 and despatch 160 stages itshould be noted that these stages are optimal and the present inventioncan be implemented using any of the stages shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example schematic of an extended cash processingcentre 106 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.Extended cash processing centre 106 comprises deposit processing area111, vault area 121, and order processing area 131, as present in thestandard cash processing centre 105 of FIG. 1C, but also furthercomprises reception area 151 and despatch area 161. Reception area 151may be separated from the deposit area 111 by physical boundary 171 asshown in FIG. 1D. If so, access to the deposit area 111 from thereception area 151 is provided by entry point 156, through which cashcan be transferred as shown by arrow 157. Alternatively, the receptionand deposit areas may be provided by a single area. Despatch area 161may also be separated from order processing area 131 by physicalboundary 171. If so, access to the despatch area 161 from the orderprocessing area 131 is provided by exit point 136, through which cashcan be transferred as shown by arrow 137.

FIG. 1E shows an alternate layout for a cash processing centre, whereinfeatures equivalent to those shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D are givenidentical reference numerals. Delivery bays 151 and 161 are used asreception and despatch areas, wherein delivery vehicles may reverse intosaid bays to load and unload cash deliveries. Deposit area 111 comprisestwo areas: area 111A comprising desk-top machines similar to workstation220A and area 111B comprising large banknote sorters and a reject entrystation. Selected deposits and rejected notes will pass from area 111Ato area 111B through entry way 181. Vault 121 is located in the centreof the cash processing facility and receives cash from area 111A viaroute 117 and area 111B via route 182. Order processing area 131receives cash from the vault 121 and picks orders to supply to thedespatch area 161.

Cash reception 150 involves the receipt of containers that contain cashfor deposit. Commonly, these containers are received from CIT operatorswhich transport cash deposits from parties who are located at a distancefrom the cash processing centre. For example, at the end of a tradingperiod, a bank may commission a CIT operator to pick-up cash from thebank's branch and transport it to the cash processing centre. Duringcash reception 150 the cash processing centre is responsible forunloading containers containing cash deposits from a CIT vehicle anddocumenting the newly acquired ownership of these containers.Responsibility for these containers can then be transferred to depositprocessing 110. In a similar manner to the boundary line 140 in FIG. 1A,the extended cash management process 101 of FIG. 1B contains figurativeboundary line 170. This separates the process of cash reception 150 fromthe process of deposit processing 110 and reflects the organisation ofthe discrete components of the vault management system.

An example of the cash reception process 150 is shown in FIG. 4. Themethod 400 shown in FIG. 4 is implemented when a cash deposit isreceived at the reception area 151. For example, the method may beinitiated when a CIT vehicle arrives. As with deposit and orderprocessing, the cash reception process is performed by an operatorresident in reception area 151. The operator has access to an additionalclient workstation within the reception area 151. On arrival of a cashdeposit, if an operator is not already logged in, the operator loads acash reception module and logs into the system using their user name andpassword.

The operator then proceeds to capture data associated with the cashdeposit. This begins with the step of entering the carrier or the routedetails 405 into the vault management system. Typically, this involvesentering a carrier or route identifier from CIT or depositdocumentation. This identifier can either be entered manually by theoperator or automatically by scanning a barcode encoding the identifier.

At the next stage 410 deposit information related to the received cashis entered into the vault management system. This may comprise thenumber of containers being deposited or may comprise additional detailssuch as the name of the depositing customer and/or the deposit amount.In a similar manner to the entry of the carrier or route details 405 thedeposit information may be entered manually by the operator or may beretrieved from data encoded into the CIT or deposit documentation. Atthe next stage of the method the identifiers of the received containerscontaining the cash deposit are entered into the system. Typically, eachcontainer has an external barcode encoding the container identifier andthis is scanned using a handheld barcode scanner in step 415. The cashreception module then stores the identifiers of each container andverifies that the number of containers present in the CIT or depositdocumentation matches the number of identified containers.

Once all the received containers have been identified to the system thenreception of the deposit is confirmed at step 420. This can be achievedby pressing an icon within a GUI used to implement the cash receptionmodule. On receipt of a new cash deposit a number of new deposit recordsare created in the vault management database 215. Each container willhave its own associated record which will contain information about itssource, its contents and other processing information. When thereception of the cash deposit is confirmed at the confirmation stage 420these records are permanently stored in the vault management softwaredatabase 215 and the containers are assigned or allocated to the currentoperator and/or area. At this stage, “parent” containers containing oneor more other containers may be unloaded or loaded to facilitate depositprocessing. Before transfer to the deposit processing area 111 areception operator is also able to re-load the reception module and editany incorrect data.

Once a number of containers containing cash deposits have been receivedand documented in reception area 151 the containers are transferred todeposit processing area 111. Physically this is normally achieved usingentry point 156. As well as physically transferring containers of cashbetween area 151 and 111 the reception operator must also complete atransfer process. As before, this transfer process is required to recordthe movement of the cash deposit containers. Hence the receptionoperator performs the steps of FIG. 3A whilst an operator in the depositprocessing area 111 acknowledges the transfer, for example using thesteps of FIG. 3B. Deposit processing can then begin as described withrelation to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The extended cash management process 101 of FIG. 1B also includes adespatch stage 160. After an order of cash has been processed by theorder processing stage 130 it is typically sent to the despatch stage160 to be despatched to the customer requiring the cash. The delivery isnormally performed by a CIT operator. The despatch stage also recordsthe transfer of responsibility from the cash processing centre to theparty responsible for the delivery. The steps performed during cashdespatch are shown in FIG. 7.

The result of the order processing stage 130 is a number of containerscontaining a quantity of cash to fulfil a cash order. Once an order hasbeen prepared and processed it is transferred to the despatch area 161to await despatch. Physically, this is often performed using a secureexit point 136. As part of the management process the one or morecontainers that contain the cash required for the cash order are alsotransferred to the despatch area 161 using a transfer process 135 asdescribed previously with relation to FIGS. 3A and 3B. The transferprocess is initiated by an operator within the order processing area 131and a second operator logged into a client workstation within despatcharea 161 acknowledges the transfer as well as physically receiving thecontainers.

Once in the despatch area 161 the operator may combine a number of cashorders into a shipment, as is shown in step 705 of FIG. 7. A shipmentcorresponds to a plurality of customer orders that will use a commondespatch route or CIT operator. Alternatively, orders may be groupedinto a shipment by management personnel or automatically based onscheduling considerations. In any case, when the despatch operator logsinto the vault management system and loads a shipment module they arepresented with a screen displaying all shipments scheduled for thepresent day. The shipment module may also display whether all containersfor a given shipment are available for despatch or whether a shipment isincomplete or over-subscribed. Containers for a given shipment may beprepared in step 710 by physically grouping the shipment containers in areserved section of the despatch area 161. Each shipment may have anassociated printed manifest documenting the details of the shipment.

When the appropriate transport vehicle arrives at the cash processingcentre the despatch operator begins the despatch process. The operatorbegins by loading the despatch module on a client workstation andselecting the route used by the waiting transport vehicle. The despatchoperator then enters or selects the relevant shipments for that routeand enters the number of containers to load onto the vehicle for eachshipment at step 720. This may be achieved by scanning the barcode of ashipment manifest to retrieve a shipment identifier. The identifiers ofall the containers to be despatched are entered into the despatch modulewhich assigns these containers to the operator of the transport vehicle.This may be achieved by scanning container barcodes that encode a uniquecontainer serial number, as is set out in step 725. The identificationof the containers making up the shipment transfers ownership of thecontainers from the despatch area 161 to transport vehicle operator. Theorder containers are then physically loaded onto the transport vehiclein step 730. A manifest related to the shipment and documenting thetransferred containers may be generated in step 735. This manifest maybe printed onto paper or may be stored electronically. The transportvehicle is then ready to depart the cash processing centre with theloaded containers.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 8. Thisembodiment combines the vault management system of the first or secondembodiment with a close circuit television (CCTV) system; the embodimentcomprises the hardware components of FIG. 2A but then further comprisesCCTV cameras 820 and a CCTV multiplexer and recorder 810. Typicallycameras 820 are digital CCTV cameras and CCTV multiplexer and recorder810 is adapted to store digitally recorded CCTV footage in database 815.Digital CCTV systems capture a video using high-capacity, high-speedmulti-channel digital recorders. Such systems typically hold a vastamount of video footage and allow quick access to video files stored indatabase 815.

Using the assignment of containers and assets, together with thetransfer process, the vault management system of the first and secondembodiments is able to capture data related to all cash processingactions in its database. Each recorded action, for example a transfer,count or reception operation, will have an associated date, time andlocation. In a similar manner the CCTV system will monitor set locationsand will index each video recording using a date and a time. Hence, asboth the vault management system and the CCTV system are commonly linkedby location, date and time parameters it is possible to retrieve videofootage from database 815 based on a location, date and time specifiedby the vault management server 210.

For example, a supervisor may wish to view the transfer of a set ofcontainers between the order processing area 131 and the despatch area161. Such a transfer will have an associated transfer record in thevault management database 215. This transfer record will then comprisedata specifying an associated set of locations (areas 131, 136 and 161)and an associated date and time. The vault management server 210 is thenadapted to supply these parameters to the CCTV multiplex and recorder810 which is able to retrieve the appropriate video from video database815. The supervisor is then able to view the video footage for thatlocation, date and time.

As well as integrating the vault management data with a CCTV systemother supervisor functions may also be optionally integrated tofacilitate management of the cash processing centre. The supervisorfunctions described herein may be used with any embodiment of thepresent invention. The interfaces for these supervisor functions can beviewed using a remote client workstation such as workstation 220C. Thefirst of these modules is an investigation and research module. Thisprovides a front-end to the vault management database enabling thesupervisor to query and view all deposit transactions, all transferprocesses and all inventories across any networked cash processingcentres, including user and/or area inventories. Each query or inventorymay also be printed as an electronic or paper report. Reports include,amongst others, operator productivity, discrepancy pattern analysis,deposit quality per depositor, counterfeit frequency per depositor orATM fit note yield per depositor. Discrepancies reported by customerscan be investigated by recalling all data associated with the depositand/or cash order in question, including the image of the deposit slip.Discrepancy reports can then be generated and printed or sentelectronically. In some configurations it is also possible to providekeystroke and/or device logging that can provide an extra level ofinformation for audits or investigations.

A supervisor may also be provided with a stock balancing function thatcan be used to balance stock at the end of a working day or shift. Theexact time or event that triggers a balance procedure is configurable.An operator first uses the system and logs into the balance module. Theythen select their name from a list onscreen and are presented with alist of the stock that is currently assigned to them. The operator thenperforms a count of the cash within their work area and enters the countresult into the module. This process may also be performed withoutdisplaying the expected stock to perform the balancing “blind”. If adifference is found between the expected and actual stock count themodule will prompt the operator to perform a recount. If after therecount an imbalance still remains a supervisor is summoned. Thesupervisor is then able to adjust the balance if need be or investigateany discrepancy.

The ownership, count, sort, inventory, reclassification and orderprocessing data can be used together with other relevant collected datato provide a real time summary of key performance indicators. These maybe displayed visually to a supervisor or an operator. Any known dataprocessing used in the art may be applied to the data to provideappropriate management information to a wide variety of personnel, fromsenior management to low-level operators.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2B,and 9 to 11. This embodiment provides an alternative method forperforming deposit processing 110 that is adapted to handle largequantities of cash.

FIG. 2B illustrates a suite of exemplary hardware components that may beused to implement the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Suchhardware as described below may also be used to implement any of theother embodiments of the present invention described herein. FIG. 2Bshows two networks 231A and 231B that communicate with each other and aremote client workstation 220C using WAN 245. Each network 231A and 231Bis connected to a respective router 235C and 235D which then providesthe gateway to the WAN. Remote client workstation 220C is connected to athird router 235E via firewall 250. Each network 231A and 231B maycorrespond to two different areas of a cash processing centre, forexample deposit area 111 and order processing area 131, or to twophysically separate cash processing centres belonging to a singleorganisation.

Top network 231A is connected to vault management server 210 and mirroror RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) server 211 which togetherrun the server operations of the vault management software and include avault management database (not shown). Lower network 231B interfaceswith vault management server 210 via the WAN 245. Both networks furthercomprise uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) 255A and 255B, reportsprinters 240, client workstations 220A and connected handheld barcodescanners 225 and currency sorting machines 260D and 260E. An exemplarycurrency sorting machine 260 is illustrated in FIG. 11. The machine 260comprises document feed area 1012 and document output hoppers 1014. Thedocument output hoppers further comprise reject hopper 1014R. While thefourth embodiment is described with regard to the hardware configurationof FIG. 2B it is not limited to such a configuration and can be usedwith any other suitable configuration including that of FIG. 2A. In thelatter case banknote counter 230A is replaced by currency sortingmachine 260.

Multiple cash processing centres may record data such as ownershiptransfers, count data and inventory information on a single centraldatabase server. This central database server may comprise a primary andback-up server and be accessible from each cash processing centre over aWAN. The database server may also be accessible from a centraladministrative head-quarters or office. The database server may alsoprovide some or all of the functionality of vault management server 210and may be connected to a network resembling network 231A but withoutthe cash processing centre workstations 220 and banknote counters 260.Standard firewall technology can be implemented so that networkedmachines within a cash processing centre can only see data upon thedatabase server that relates to the centre in question. However,administrative machines may be able to access, view and aggregate datafrom a plurality of cash processing sites.

The method of the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 provides analternate method for performing deposit processing as illustrated inFIGS. 5A and 5B. In the first and second embodiments each deposit iscommenced, counted, validated and completed prior to moving onto thenext deposit. The cash pertaining to such a deposit typically remainswith a deposit operator at all times. In the fourth embodiment aplurality of deposits are batched together and processed in a continuouscycle away from the desk of an operator.

The method of deposit processing according to the fourth embodimentinvolves three main stages: preparation; note sorting and depositcounting; and reject entry. Reject entry comprises capturing datarelated to notes that were rejected within the sort process. Such notesmay be damaged or counterfeit.

The method 900 of FIG. 9 commences after an operator within the depositprocessing area 111 receives one or more containers containing a cashdeposit. The operator performs the steps of FIG. 5A as per the firstembodiment but at step 520, when the deposit record is updated, thedeposit is assigned a unique deposit identifier as shown in step 905.This deposit identifier allows the deposit to be tracked for theduration of the deposit processing. For large deposits the deposit maybe split into a plurality of smaller deposits which will each beassigned a unique deposit identifier. Once the deposit identifier hasbeen assigned a set of two separator documents are generated at step910. The deposit is then arranged in a deposit batch in step 915.

A series of three deposits and their associated separator documents 1112that make up an exemplary deposit batch are shown in FIG. 11. Theseparator documents are designed to be placed around a bundle ofbanknotes 1116, 1120, 1124 making up the deposit and comprise a “first”or downstream document, 1119, 1121 and 1123, and a “second” or upstreamdocument, 1118, 1122 and 1126, wherein the banknotes are configured tobe fed in the direction of arrow 1127. The first separator documents1119, 1121 and 1123 act as a trailer and the second separator documents1118, 1122 and 1126, act as a header. Each header document comprises oneor more magnetic strips on the rear (downstream) side of the documentand a barcode on the front (upstream) side of the document. The uniquedeposit identifier is typically encoded in both the barcode and themagnetic strip.

Alternatively, the separator documents may be taken from a stock ofpre-existing separator documents. In this case, each the barcode andmagnetic strip(s) encode an arbitrary serial number. This serial numberis then assigned to a deposit at step 905 by scanning the barcode oneach header document whilst putting together the deposit batches.

Each deposit batch is commonly arranged on a deposit tray that isadapted to feed a currency sorting machine 260. A deposit batch maycontain a plurality of deposits from difference customers. Once adeposit tray is full, or a deposit batch reaches a predefined size, itis taken by an operator to the currency sorting machine 260 forprocessing and counting at step 920. The deposit batches, complete withseparator documents, are placed onto a feed mechanism of the currencysorting machine 260 at feed area 1012 and the machine continuously feedsthe note into a note processing area. The processing performed by thecurrency sorting machine 260 incorporates one or more of counting,authentication, fitness and denominational sorting in a single processrun and typically provides all four forms of processing. During the sortprocess detectors within the machine inspect both the banknotes andseparator documents. When the machine encounters a header document itreads the unique identifier on the document encoded in either themagnetic strips or the barcode. This identifier is then associated withthe sort or process records of the subsequent banknotes. When thetrailer separation document is then subsequently detected the machinethen disassociates the unique identifier from the sort or processrecords of subsequent banknotes.

Sorted banknotes are provided to output hoppers 1014 depending on thesort process. For example, a detector may be provided for determiningthe denomination of each banknote and another detector for determiningauthenticity. If a banknote is found to be authentic and itsdenomination can be determined, it will be directed to a particularoutput hopper for stacking genuine banknotes with that denomination. Allother documents either non-genuine or unreadable banknotes or separatorsare fed to the reject hopper 1014R.

The processing data associated with a deposit amount originally situatedbetween the separator documents is sent by the currency sorting machine260 via network 231A to vault management server 210. The server thenpopulates the deposit count and processing data at step 925 using theunique deposit identifier as an index.

Reject banknotes fed to the reject hopper 1014R remain sandwichedbetween their associated separator documents and form reject depositbatches. These reject deposit batches are then taken to a rejectprocessing station wherein the reject notes are processed a second timeat stage 930 to ascertain the reason for rejection and/or possibledetect good notes that were not detected on the first pass (for exampleif they were rejected as overlapping or misfed notes). The reject datais also associated with the unique identifier on the header document andis sent to the vault management server to update the deposit count andprocessing data. Alternatively, the reject notes can be manuallyinspected by an operator. In this case the operator will manually scanthe barcode on the associated header document and enter the reject data.

Once process data for all the banknotes within the deposit has beenascertained then this data is automatically reconciled with dataobtained from the deposit slip at step 935. As with the first embodimentany discrepancies are flagged to a supervisor in a management reportproduced at step 940.

The benefits of the fourth embodiment are numerous. The depositprocessing is performed in one continuous process and a high level ofaccuracy, integrity and security is maintained. Added security can beprovided by performing the processing “blind”, i.e. the operatorresponsible for operating the counter and/or entering reject informationis unaware of the depositor details.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in theflowchart of FIG. 12. This embodiment incorporates customer processingof cash deposits before said deposits are delivered to the cashprocessing centre, commonly referred to as “pre-advisement”, and usesradio frequency identification (RFID) devices in order to facilitatedata management during the cash deposit process. Reference to a customerrefers to a customer of the cash processing centre.

In the flowchart of FIG. 12, steps 1265 are performed by the customer ororganization making a deposit. As such, these steps may be performedupon the customer's premises or within their place of business, forexample within a back office in a retail environment. At step 1205, thecustomer prepares a new cash deposit. This deposit will typicallycomprise a quantity of cash, cheques and/or documents of value that thecustomer wishes to deposit at the cash processing centre. The length andcomplexity of this step will depend upon the size and nature of thecustomer and/or organization. For example, in a large retailorganization, a customer may move their till takings from the front ofthe shop to the back office after closing, wherein the takings will becounted and sorted to produce a deposit for that day of trade. Duringthe preparation of this deposit a deposit reference is typicallygenerated at step 1255 which allows the customer, and subsequently thecash processing centre, to identify the deposit. In certain embodimentsthe deposit reference may be an alpha-numeric code. The depositreference may be generated automatically at the end of trade or may beactively generated by the customer upon preparing a new cash deposit.For example, a user may select a new deposit action from a userinterface present upon deposit management software running on a computerterminal in the retailer's back office.

The customer will then prepare the cash and/or articles of value fordeposit. This typically comprises sorting the articles for deposit intobundles of banknotes of a certain cash value or of a number of banknotesof a set denomination. This sorting may be performed in conjunction witha banknote sorter present upon the retailer's premises. For each bundledeposit generated by the retailer, the customer attaches one or moreseparator documents. These separator documents may comprise the headerand trailer cards 1118 and 1119 shown in FIG. 11. Two of these separatordocuments are placed around the bundle: a header card 1118 on the top ofthe bundle and a trailer card 1119 on the bottom of the bundle. Theseseparator documents may comprise plastic cards for durability, and bedesigned to be hard-wearing.

In the present case, the header card 1119, forming part of the separatordocuments attached to a bundle of banknotes, comprises a barcode and anRFID or wireless electronic chip. As each bundle is formed, such asbundles 1116, 1120 or 1124 in FIG. 11, the retailer will scan thebarcode present on the header card associated with each bundle. Thisbarcode will typically encode an identifying serial number oralpha-numeric code. This number or code is then associated with thedeposit reference calculated in step 1255 and step 1260. The RFID chiptypically comprises an integrated circuit and an antenna and may besimilar to the chip shown in FIG. 14 and described in the section “RFIDTracking”. The antenna is used for receiving and transmitting a wirelessor radio frequency signal and the integrated circuit is typically usedfor storing an identifying serial number or alpha-numeric code and formodulating and demodulating the wireless radio frequency signal. Onsupply to the customer the RFID chip is set to typically read-only. In avariation of step 1210, the customer may alternatively prepare thebundle and then instead of scanning the header barcode, pass the bundleunder a RFID reader which will communicate with the RFID chip andretrieve the identifying serial number stored in the chip. This numberis then associated with the deposit at step 1260. The association istypically performed by storing the retrieved serial number and thedeposit reference in a central database. This central database may becoupled to a web server accessible by both the customer and the cashprocessing centre over a WAN or may be database 215. Alternatively, theassociation may be stored in a local database at the customer's premisesand then sent to the cash processing centre by electronic communication.In certain embodiments, both the barcode serial number and the RFIDserial number may be stored with the deposit reference. The RFID chipmay also be located in a different separator document to that whichcontains the barcode.

During the preparation of the cash deposit at step 1205, the customerwill generate deposit information relating to each bundle. For example,this may be at least one of: date and time of processing, personnelpresent, location of processing, count information, the total value ofthe bundle, the number of notes of a particular denomination,authenticity information related to the notes within the bundle andfitness information such as the level of soil or tears. This depositdata may either be produced by hand, based on a manual count andindividual inspection of each note within the bundle, or may be producedautomatically using a banknote sorter. If the information is produced byhand it may be recorded against the bundle RFID and/or barcode referenceusing a user interface displayed on a customer computer terminal. If theinformation is produced by the banknote counter it may be passed inelectronic form to the customer's computer for storage against thebundle RFID and/or barcode reference (and thus in turn the depositreference) or may be displayed to the customer for manual entry againstthe bundle reference using a user interface. This allows a running totalof the current deposit to be calculated after processing each bundle.

The banknote sorter may be further adapted to take a plurality ofbanknotes and/or articles of value as input and produce a number ofbanknote bundles with pre-determined properties as output. For example,the banknote sorter may automatically produce bundles of one hundrednotes of each denomination, for example one hundred notes of 10 dollaror 10 euro value and then automatically place a header and trailer cardaround the bundle before the bundle is output to a sorter output tray orstack. The banknote sorter can then be adapted to read either thebarcode or the RFID chip serial number as the bundle is put together toautomatically associate the separator card or chip identifier with theprocessing details of the banknote bundle.

At step 1215, the produced cash bundles are placed into one or morecontainers ready for transportation to the cash processing centre. Eachcontainer may optionally also comprise a barcode and/or RFID chip, inwhich case a serial number or alpha-numeric code contained within thebarcode and/or RFID chip may be read and associated with the deposit andbundle references. The container is preferably made form anon-conductive material to facilitate the reading of RFID chips insidethe container. This then marks the end of processing at the customer endof the process flow.

At step 1220, the one or more containers containing the cash bundles aretransported to the cash processing centre. This step is typicallyperformed by a carrier operator who collects the one or more containersfrom the customer and delivers them to the cash processing centre. Inthe present example, the carrier operator is equipped to scan eachcontainer with an RFID reader. This allows the bundle identifiersassociated with RFID chips attached to each bundle to be read inside thecontainer. These identifiers can then be associated with the carrierand/or route details such as the present driver or security personnel,the time and date of collection, and other relevant information. Thebundle identifiers may be associated with the carrier and/or routedetails in a database record and stored locally in a storage devicepresent within the carrier vehicle. These records may then be downloadedupon arrival at the cash processing centre. Alternatively, each vehicleor carrier operator may be provided with a wireless or mobile data entrydevice, such as a PDA or mobile phone. This device may also comprise theRFID reader and a barcode reader and thus the header and containeridentifiers read from the container may be transmitted wirelessly to acentral server wherein the deposit records can be updated accordingly.If these carrier details are linked with the header identifiers thenthey may be retrieved from the central database using the identifiers asan input to a query at step 1225 when the containers are scanned onarrival in the reception area 151.

Once the one or more containers reach the cash processing centre, steps1270 are performed within the centre. The present example will bedescribed in relation to a cash processing centre such as that describedin the second embodiment. However, it is also possible to use a cashprocessing centre as described with relation to the first embodiment.Hence, when the one or more containers containing the bundles ofbanknotes arrive at the cash processing centre, they enter into thereception area 151 wherein reception processing 150 begins. However, incontrast to the reception processing 150 of the second embodiment, theuse of RFID chips associated with each cash bundle greatly simplifiesthe steps that need to be performed by the operator in the receptionstage. Instead of entering deposit details into a user interface, theoperator in the reception area 151 simply scans each container at step1225 with a RFID reader to obtain the serial numbers of all the cashbundles present within the scanned container. Alternatively, thisscanning may be performed automatically by a scanning gate at theentrance to the reception area 151. These serial numbers are thenprocessed by the reception module of the vault management system. Thisprocessing typically involves using the serial numbers in a databasequery to retrieve the deposit records generated at steps 1205 and 1255within the retailer's premises. For example, the reception module mayaccess a central server or database wherein the deposit and processinginformation related to each bundle identifier is stored. Once thedeposit reference associated with the one or more cash bundles isretrieved, data related to that deposit, such as the customer name andaddress, total value of the deposit or any other preadvised data thatwas entered at the customer's premises, may be displayed onscreen forvisual verification by the operator in the reception area 151. Thereception processing 150 may also involve verifying that all the RFIDserial numbers associated with bundles placed in each container by thecustomer are also detected on the scan performed by the operator. If oneor more RFID serial numbers are not detected, or alternatively one ormore RFID serial numbers not associated with the customer's deposit aredetected, then this is recorded and a warning may be flagged to theoperator or their supervisor. If the RFID serial numbers match, the oneor more containers and/or the RFID and/or barcode serial numbersassociated with each cash bundle within each container are assigned tothe current operator and/or area. If a scanning gate is provided at theentrance to the reception area, the carrier vehicle or containers fromthe vehicle may be scanned on entry to the reception area 151 to checkfor the presence of RFID chips. The serial numbers read back fromlocated RFID chips may then be reconciled with the data recorded by thecarrier operator.

As in the second embodiment, after the containers have been scanned inthe reception area 151, the cash bundles are transferred to the depositprocessing area 111 wherein deposit processing 110 is performed.Typically, deposit processing 110 is performed in a similar manner tothat described in the fourth embodiment, however, the various stepsdescribed herein may also be performed manually in association with thedeposit processing described in relation to the first embodiment. Thetransfer of ownership to the deposit area and/or deposit operator mayinvolve logging the transfer of the bundle identifiers to keep track ofall bundles of cash.

At step 1235 the cash bundles are removed from the one or morecontainers and prepared for processing by a banknote sorter. In contrastto the fourth embodiment, the cash to be counted and processed isalready provided in bundles with separator documents and therefore thesecash bundles may be simply retrieved from the one or more containers andplaced on a deposit tray ready for feeding to a currency sorting machine260. The currency sorting machine 260 is typically adapted to eitherread the barcode serial numbers present on one of the separatordocuments or the RFID serial number on each cash bundle at step 1240 andthus is able to look up the deposit identifiers related to the bundleidentifiers and then record processing data generated by the currencysorting machine 260 against the deposit record. For example, as in thefourth embodiment, the currency sorting machine may incorporate one ormore of counting authentication, fitness and denomination sorting.Information related to one or more of these areas may be stored underthe deposit reference that is linked to the presently processed cashusing the bundle identifier. This is shown in step 1245.

This then allows the sort information associated with each bundle thatwas recorded at the customer's premises to be reconciled with the sortinformation generated by the currency sorting machine 260. Any errors,irregularities or discrepancies may then be reported to senior personneland recorded against the deposit. For example, the counted value of eachbundle, as calculated by the currency sorting machine 260, may becompared with the value of each bundle as entered or calculated duringdeposit processing at the customer's premises. In one example, if theserial numbers of each banknote in a given bundle were recorded duringdeposit processing at steps 1265 then these could be checked against theserial numbers of each banknote as recorded by the currency sortingmachine 260. After processing by the currency sorting machine 260, theseparator documents are removed from the bundles as the cash istypically resorted and recombined with other deposits for ease ofdeposit into the vault 121. In this case, the separator documents aresent to a reject pocket such as 1014R in FIG. 10, which involvesdeallocating the serial numbers of the separator documents from thedeposit at step 1250 so the same separator documents may be reused forother deposits. For example, the separator documents can be recollectedand resent to the customer for future deposits. Several variations ofthe fifth embodiment may be applied without deviating from the scope ofthe present invention. Instead of bundling the cash to be deposited, adurable plastic tag containing an RFID chip may be included in thedeposit container together with the cash to be deposited. A serialnumber associated with the tag is associated with the deposit by eitherscanning the tag with an RFID reader, scanning a barcode printed on thetag or manually entering a serial number printed on the tag. Depositinformation produced by the customer is then associated with the serialnumber of the tag. On arrival at the cash processing this tag may beread and processed in a similar manner to the separator documentsdescribed previously. The tag may be also scanned by the carrieroperator during delivery.

If the security of the deposit is monitored from the time of customerdeposit processing to deposit in the vault 121 then the methods of thefifth embodiment may be used to enable the value of the deposit to beadded to the customer's financial account at the date and time ofcustomer deposit processing, i.e. enable customers to pass value atsource.

A further variation of the fifth embodiment uses RFID devices with aquantity of writeable memory. The customer is equipped with a RFIDwriter that enables the previously discussed deposit and/or processingdata related to each banknote bundle and/or total cash deposit to bewritten to a memory within an RFID device associated with the bundleand/or deposit. Hence, instead of retrieving deposit and/or processingdata using the serial numbers of the RFID chips, such data may be readdirectly from the memory of the chip itself.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in theflowchart of FIG. 13. This embodiment uses radio frequency identified(RFID) devices in order to simplify the order preparation process byallowing the bulk scanning of outgoing customer orders to verify theircontents.

One set of processing which is performed during vault processing 120 isthe re-bundling of sets of banknotes in bundles of a predetermineddenomination and optionally of a particular fitness. Each bundle is thensecured with one or more plastic straps. The strapping process may alsobe performed by a strapping machine that is adapted to sort and processthe banknotes before automatically applying straps to any sortedbundles.

In the present case, RFID devices or tags are embedded or attached tothe banknote straps that secure each bundle and this RFID tag is used toidentify the bundle and optionally to store data related to the noteswithin the bundle. Each RFID device may resemble that shown anddescribed in relation to FIG. 14. The method of FIG. 13 shows a suitablestrapping process. At step 1305, a quantity of banknotes are sorted andprocessed. This may involve a manual sort or may involve a sort by abanknote sorter or strapping machine. Examples of sort criteria aredenomination, currency, fitness, issue, or banknote recycling framework(BRF) type. The output of this sorting process is typically a bundle ofbanknotes with predetermined properties, for example 100×10 eurobanknotes. At step 1310, a strap is applied to the sorted bundle ofbanknotes to secure the bundle. This strapping process may be performedmanually by an operator or may be performed by a strapping machine. Atstep 1315, an RFID serial number or alpha-numeric code associated withan RFID tag attached or embedded within the current strap is read andrecorded by the vault management system. This read operation may beperformed by the strapper machine using an inbuilt reader or may beperformed by the operator using a handheld reader. It is also possibleto read the strap identifier before step 1310. Once the serial number oralpha-numeric code of the RFID tag has been read, a data record iscreated, wherein the properties of the bundle of banknotes, as recordedby the strapper machine or the operator, are associated with the strapidentifier. Hence the properties and value of the bundle of banknotesmay be recalled using the strap identifier as an index. The propertiesof the bundle of banknotes may include one or more of: number of notes,denomination of notes, quality or fitness of notes, issue number,banknote serial number etc. This association of the bundle data with thestrap is performed at step 1320. In alternate embodiments, steps 1315and 1320 may comprise writing the processing data related to a bundle ofbanknotes onto memory coupled to the RFID tag mounted in the strap. Inthis case, the strapping machine or the operator will be equipped withan RFID writing device which will write the required information to thememory coupled to the RFID tag.

At step 1325, a decision is made as to whether strapped bundles ofbanknotes should be strapped into bundles of even larger value. Forexample, a number of bundles each containing one hundred banknotes of aparticular denomination may be strapped to form a larger bundle of athousand banknotes of that denomination, i.e. by strapping tenpreviously strapped bundles. Again, this may be carried out by asuitably adapted strapping machine or by an operator. If strapping ofstrapped bundles is required, then the strapped bundles are themselvesstrapped at step 1335 and a strap identifier or serial number associatedwith an RFID tag attached or embedded within the strap applied to thestrapped bundles is read at step 1340. The data associated with thepreviously strapped bundles and the further strapping process is thenassociated with the strap identifier of the larger bundle at step 1345.For example, if ten previously strapped bundles are to be strapped tocreate a larger bundle, then the strap identifiers of the ten previouslystrapped bundles may be registered with the strap identifier of thestrap wrapping the previously strapped bundles. After the bundles ofbanknotes have been strapped one or more times, the strapped bundles areeither stored or moved to an area where they may be ready for orderprocessing at step 1330. Typically, the method 1300 is performed withinthe vault area 121 although it may alternatively be performed as part ofthe deposit processing 110 or the order processing 130.

The bundles of banknotes are then used to pick an order as shown in FIG.6. An order is received from a customer and the ownership of the bundlesis transferred from the vault area 121 or a vault operator to the orderprocessing area 131 or an order processing operator. The order is thenmanually picked and a bag or container is filled according to thisorder. During this stage the order processing operator may optionallyread the RFID serial numbers of the bundles and store these serialnumbers with the customer order record. This may facilitate futureauditing and customer management. After the order has been picked atstep 640, the container or bag can now be sealed as each bundle ofbanknotes within the bag or container has been strapped with a strapincorporating an RFID tag; to verify the value of a container or bag allthe operator need now do is to scan the bag or container with an RFIDreader which will retrieve the RFID strap identifiers and/or the valueof notes from RFID memory. If the strap identifiers are read, then thesecan be used as an index to a central database to retrieve the value ofthe bundles. Hence the value or other details of a sealed order may beverified at any other further point after the order has been picked,including during despatch processing 160. For example, before an orderis loaded onto a carrier for transport to a customer, the sealed bag orcontainer may be scanned by an operator using a handheld RFID scanner toconfirm that the contents agree with the details of the order placed bythat customer. As well as verifying the contents of an order using dataretrieved from the RFID devices, further verification may be performedby weighing the container. Using order data retrieved from the vaultmanagement system the expected weight of the order may be calculated andcompared with a measured weight of the order. This verification wouldinvolve adjusting for the weight of the container and straps. A moreprecise expected weight may also be calculated using the banknote dataretrieved after reading the strap identifiers of the bundles within thecontainer.

Additionally, the RFID tags on the bundle may be used to transferownership of the bundles. For example, once a bundle is strapped, it maybe assigned to an operator in the vault processing area 121. Duringtransfer of the bundle from the vault processing area to the orderprocessing area 131, ownership of the bundles may be transferred as wellusing the methods of the present invention. This method may also allowthe automatic picking of orders through automatically reading the RFIDserial numbers of bundles to ascertain their value and then to use thisinformation to automatically pick a predetermined quantity of notes foran order.

The final recipient of the cash order may also use the RFID devicesattached to the strapped bundles to check that their order is correct.By scanning a container containing one or more tagged bundles thatcomprise a cash order, the recipient is able to confirm the value of asealed container as discussed above. This may be performed by receivingand integrating data stored in memory coupled to each RFID device or maybe achieved by using the serial numbers associated with, and read from,each RFID device to perform a query on a central database to which thecustomer has access. In this manner the customer may check that theirorder is complete before opening the container and officially acceptinga delivery of an order.

As well as associating details of the banknotes with the strapidentifier at step 1320, other details relating to the processing mayalso be associated with the serial number or alpha-numeric code of theRFID tag. For example, data such as the date of strapping or processing,time of strapping or processing, operator in charge of strapping orprocessing, sorting machine, strapping machine, processing performed,and/or area of processing may be associated with the RFID tag. Again,this association may be performed by storing data within memory coupledto the RFID tag or may be performed by associating the serial number oralpha-numeric code of the RFID tag with data in a database record storedwithin the vault management system. If a problem arises with aparticular bundle of banknotes, useful data can be retrieved from thevault management system: for example, the exact machine that producedthe strap may be investigated and/or the time of strapping may be linkedto the security camera system in order to allow a visual check of thestrapping process; alternatively if there is a note quality orauthenticity concern, the sorting or strapping machine ID may be used toretrieve the sort parameters active at the time of sorting or strapping.

While the method of the sixth embodiment has been described in relationto a strap it is also possible to use alternative means to secure sortednumbers of banknotes. For example, output cassettes or envelopes mayalternatively be used, wherein an RFID is inserted or attached to thecassettes or envelopes. In these cases the strapping machine will beadapted to output the collection of banknotes in the required form.

To facilitate the transfer process described in relation to FIGS. 3A and3B radio frequency identification devices or RFID tags may be installedupon the containers used to transfer the cash. These RFID tags may beused in a similar way to the barcodes present on the containers thatwere described earlier.

An example of a suitable RFID tag is shown in FIG. 14. The tag 1400comprises a tag substrate 1410, an aerial 1420, a controller 1430 andoptional memory 1450. The controller may comprise an integratedtransmitter and/or receiver. Tag 1400 is passive and so has no internalpower source. The aerial 1420 receives power from an external reader.Radio frequency signals emitted from the external reader impinge onaerial 1420 and enable the controller 1430 to modulate the receivedsignal or to “backscatter” a carrier wave to return a signal to theexternal reader carrying information related to the RFID tag 1400.Typically the tag 1400 comprises memory 1450 which contains a serialnumber or alpha-numeric code. This serial number or alpha-numeric codeidentifies the tag and typically comprises a plurality of bits of data.Upon receiving a radio frequency signal from an external reader thecontroller 1430 is typically adapted to modulate the received signal insuch a way that the tag identifier can be extracted from signalsreceived back at the external reader.

A tag 1400 as shown in FIG. 14 may be applied to a container tofacilitate the transport process shown in FIG. 3A. In the previouslydescribed example, at step 325, a barcode applied to the container wasscanned in order to achieve a serial number or identifier related to thecontainer. In the present case at step 325 an RFID tag applied to acontainer may be scanned to retrieve a serial number or other identifierassociated with the tag. If this serial number was previously associatedwith the deposit items within the container then details relating to thedeposit items within the container may be retrieved from centraldatabase 215 by scanning the tag and retrieving the serial number. Byusing an RFID tag instead of a barcode, information may be gainedconcerning the deposit items within a container from a distance. Thismay enable multiple containers comprising RFID tags to be scanned in aset area before a plurality of containers are transferred.

A container equipped with an RFID tag may also be used to record theevents surrounding a transfer as described in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Forexample if a cash processing centre resembling FIG. 1D is used a numberof passive gates adapted to interrogate RFID tags may be installed atgateways 156,116,126 and 136. When a container comprising an RFID tag ispassed through one of these passive gates, i.e. through one of thegateways 156,116,126 or 136, the RFID tag is detected and its serialnumber retrieved by control systems attached to the passive gates. Thisthen allows a transfer event to be generated documenting that a transferhas occurred between two neighbouring areas joined by the detectinggateway. To determine the direction of travel of the container theretrieved serial number of a detected RFID tag may be used to querycentral database 215 to retrieve the last location record concerning theRFID tag in question. This retrieved location then becomes the sourcelocation and the other area bordering the gateway becomes thedestination region. For example, if a container was last registered asbeing within deposit processing area 111 and is detected passing throughgateway 116 then it is assumed that a container comprising a detectedRFID chip is moving from deposit processing area 111 to vault processingarea 121.

In order to provide a closed system, passive gates may also be providedon all entrances and exits to the cash processing centre. For example,turning to the exemplary cash processing centre shown in FIG. 1E passivegates may be mounted around the entrance to reception area 151 anddispatch area 161. When a plurality of containers enter the receptionarea 151 within a delivery vehicle then the RFID tags associated withthose containers may be detected and the serial numbers associated withthe detected tags may be entered in to location records in centraldatabase 215. A location record will thus record the detected containersas being located within reception area 151. Likewise when a number ofcontainers in a delivery vehicle that contain customer orders leavesdispatch area 161, a passive gate will detect the RFID tags within thevehicle and record the associated containers as having left the cashprocessing centre.

If methods and apparatus according to the fifth or sixth embodiments areused then individual cash bundles may be tracked on entry and/or exit toparticular areas using RFID tags located in either the header or trailerdocuments or the straps of bundled banknotes.

To facilitate and-to-end tracking of deposits throughout the depositprocess each deposit may be linked to a particular deposit identifierfrom pre-advertisement at the customer's premises to deposit processingand reject handling. To do this a particular RFID identifier related toa particular RFID tag may be associated with a container containing thedeposit. The container and/or the RFID tag then stays with the depositthroughout the deposit lifecycle. RFID readers at predeterminedlocations may then detect the RFID tag and retrieve the identifier. Thisthen allows real-time deposit tracking. For example, RFID readers may beprovided within CIT vehicles, in the reception area 151, at thepreparation and machine entry areas within deposit processing area III,near or on cages temporarily storing deposit containers or within thevault. A similar system may also be used to track customer orders fromthe vault to the dispatch area and even possibly the CIT deliveryvehicle. This would then allow complete tracking from and to thecustomer. CIT operators would also be able to retrieve real-timeinformation on the status of cash orders. A plurality of RFID readers ata variety of stages during order preparation and dispatch may replace orcomplement existing CIT tracking systems. Using a single tracking methodincorporating RFID would, however, greatly simplify the process.

An example of a deposit sequence using the methods discussed above isshown in FIG. 19. At step 1910, an RFID tag attached to a container isdetected on entry to the cash processing centre (CPC) and an entry eventis generated at step 1940 and stored in central database 215. The RFIDidentifier associated with the RFID tag is also retrieved and stored inthe entry event record. The vault management server 210 is thenconfigured to, at step 1915, use the retrieved RFID identifier toretrieve a pre-advisement record containing deposit data that wasgenerated by the customer and sent to, or recorded in, central database215. At this point the vault management server generates an ownershiptransfer event at step 1945 to assign ownership of the deposit storedwithin the tagged container to the reception area 151. The deposit maybe referenced using the deposit reference generated in step 1255 of FIG.12. After reception processing has been performed the container, andthus deposit, is moved at step 1920 to the deposit processing area 111.This typically involves passing the container through a gateway with anassociated RF scanning reader attached. The scanning reader detects theRFID tag attached to the container and sends a message to the vaultmanagement server 210. The vault management server 210 then looks up theprevious position of the RFID tag (or associated deposit) and uses thisto determine the direction of travel through the gateway. The vaultmanagement server 210 is then configured, at step 1950, to generate atransfer record indexed by the retrieved RFID identifier of the RFID tagand to assign ownership of the associated deposit to the depositprocessing area 111. At step 1925, an operator or banknote sorter scansthe RFID tag before deposit processing takes place so that datagenerated by the deposit processing can be compared, and possiblyreconciled, with the original deposit data generated as part of steps1265 in FIG. 12. This comparison is performed at step 1955 and theresult is stored in the central database 215. After deposit processing,at step 1930, the container is repacked with the deposit and thentransferred to the vault processing area 121 for unloading and storage.During the physical transfer of the container from the depositprocessing area 111 to the vault processing area 121, another gatewayscanning reading detects the RFID tag and a transfer record andownership assignment are generated at step 1960, in a similar manner tostep 1950. Within the vault the container is unpacked and the RFID tagattached to the container is de-allocated from the deposit removed fromthe container at step 1935.

Another use of RFID tag 1400 is shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B. In thisexample the cages or trolleys that are used to respectively store ortransport containers within the cash processing centre are equipped withRFID passive scanning gates in order to detect any RFID tags placedwithin them. If each RFID tag is associated with a container then thelocation of containers containing cash deposits can be traced throughoutthe cash processing centre. FIG. 15A shows an end view of a trolley 1510for transporting containers around the cash processing centre. Thetrolley 1510 has a number of wheels 1520 which enable it to be wheeledaround the different areas of the cash processing centre. The trolley1510 is further provided with one or more RFID passive scanning readers1530 which are attached to the trolley 1510. In the present example thetrolley comprises four passive RFID readers, one mounted in eachvertical corner member of the trolley. In use, the trolleys transport anumber of containers 1550 around the cash processing centre. Thesecontainers 1550 have an associated RFID tag 1400, for example whereintag substrate 1410 is affixed to the side of a container. Atpredetermined intervals each passive scanning gate 1530 will emit anumber of radio frequency signals 1314 which are used to detect thepresence of an RFID tag within the range of each passive scanningreader. An RFID tag may be detected by modulating or backscattering theradio frequency signals 1540 as described earlier. Thus the serialnumber or identifier associated with any RFID tag in the location ofeach passive scanning reader may be retrieved. In FIG. 15A no containeris placed upon the trolley 1510 and thus no backscatter signal isreceived by the passive RFID scanning readers 1530.

FIG. 15B shows a side view of the trolley 1510, wherein a container 1550has now been placed upon the trolley. When a container 1550 comprisingan RFID tag 1400 is placed upon the trolley 1510, the RFID tag 1400backscatters one or more of the radio frequency read signal 1540 emittedby the passive scanning readers 1530. In the example shown in FIG. 15B,passive scanning reader 1530A is the closest device to container 1550and so reader 1530A receives a response signal 1560 that has beenmodified by tag 1400. Reader 1530A thus detects the response signal 1560and decodes the serial number associated with RFID tag 1400. Hence, thenumber of containers present within the trolley 1510 may be detected bythe passive scanning readers 1530 and the serial numbers of each tagattached to each container may also be retrieved. In the present examplethe trolley 1510 is mobile and so the trolley further comprises awireless transmitter 1570 which allows the reading apparatus 1530 tocommunicate over a wireless network with the vault management systemrunning on server 210. The serial numbers associated with the RFID tagcan then be related to containers and deposits so that the location ofeach deposit may be known.

A cage may also be adapted as described above and will typicallyresemble the trolley 1510 in FIGS. 15A, 15B without the presence of thewheels 1520. Both cages and trolleys may be provided with doors and/orpanels on one or more sides of the frame 1510. The passive scanningreaders 1530 may alternatively comprise a closed loop antenna mountedaround the edges of the cage or trolley, e.g. forming a closed looparound all four edges of the trolley or cage. The passive scanningreaders 1530 may also be placed on the top and bottom of the cage and/ortrolley as well as or instead of being placed on the sides of thetrolley and/or cage. As a cage is typically stationary the detectioncontrol systems linked to the passive scanning readers 1530 may also belinked to the central databases over a standard wired Ethernet link. TheRFID tags may also comprise active or powered RFID tags and thus thepassive scanning readers 1530 will comprise active scanning readers.

By using cages and/or trolleys with built-in RFID scanning readers thevault management software is able to track which containers move in andout of each trolley and/or cage within the cash processing centre.Hence, an operator or manager may be able to instantly find out thevalue of any cage and/or trolley within the centre by retrieving thecash or deposit information that has been associated with each containeror the RFID tag 1400. In certain cash processing centres each cageand/or trolley may have a certain insurance limit. This means that thecage and/or trolley can only be loaded with a certain amount of cash.The RFID scanning reader thus allows the value of any cage and/ortrolley to be calculated by the vault management system and if theinsurance limit is exceeded then a warning can be displayed. Events thatrecord when a container 1550 enters a cage and/or trolley may also beused together with CCTV systems to retrieve video footage of thecontainer being placed into the cage and/or trolley or being removedfrom the cage and/or trolley.

In a variation to the apparatus shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B the trolley1510 may itself comprise an RFID tag 1400. When a container 1550 isplaced upon the trolley 1510 the RFID tag of the trolley and the RFIDtag of the container are read by a handheld reader or a static reader inthe vicinity of the trolley. The identifier of the RFID tag attached tothe trolley is then linked to the identifier of the RFID tag attached tothe container on the trolley. The trolley and the container may then belinked within the vault management system, e.g. within database 215, toallow the location of container 1550 to be ascertained. At certainintervals a RFID scanning reader external to the trolley 1510 may thenbe used to scan the trolley to verify that the records stored within thevault management system, i.e. the number of container tags present onthe trolley, match the data stored in the database.

In a similar manner, the trays that are loaded with cash deposits beforeprocessing by a banknote sorter or currency sorting machine may alsocomprise an associated RFID tag. If the methods of identifying bundlesof cash used in the fifth and sixth embodiments are used then thebundles of cash present upon a tray may be linked with an identifierassociated with the RFID tag attached to the tray by scanning the trayany accompanying deposits with an RFID reader. This then returns thetray tag identifier and the deposit identifiers which can then be linkedwithin the vault management system. Hence the vault management system isable to keep a record of the expected value of each tray within the cashprocessing centre. By keeping track of the value of each bundle of cashplaced on the tray a manager may also be provided with information aboutthe total value of cash upon the tray. This total value of the tray maybe used to keep within insurance limits and/or used to track whetherthere is enough deposited cash to keep the banknote sorter or currencysorting machine running at a predetermined capacity. If a tray isscanned before a processing operation upon the currency processingmachine 260 is performed, then the data associated with the processingof the deposits upon the tray may be verified against data related tothe deposits that were recorded before the operation. The banknotesorter or currency sorting machine may also be adapted to use a list ofexpected cash bundle or header card identifiers and thus the sorter ormachine may be further adapted to stop operation if an RFID tag isdetected that has an identifier that is not on the list.

An extension of the use of RFID tags and RFID readers to ascertain thelocation of cash within the cash processing sensor, both in the form ofcustomer deposits and orders, involves the use of an advanced activeRFID device in association with a wireless positioning system. Theexample below is described in relation to a wireless trilaterationsystem, however the methods and systems may be adapted to operate usingother known positioning systems, such as those that involve wirelesstriangulation or global positioning systems such as NAVSTAR GPS.

Wireless trilateration systems typically allow location tracking ofsuitably adapted RFID devices using a wireless local area network (LAN).Typically, an IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless LAN is constructed with aplurality of wireless access points. A RFID device is then adapted tocommunicate with these access points upon the wireless LAN usingstandard protocols and each RFID device may be uniquely identified by anaddress string such as the network MAC address of the RFID device. Inuse, when an RFID device communicates with three or more wireless accesspoints the RFID device may be located by examining the signal strengthof radio frequency communications between the RFID device and each ofthe three or more access points. Such a system is easy to implementusing existing wireless LAN infrastructure that has been designed fordata communication. An example of a suitable wireless trilaterationsystem is that provided by Pango Networks Incorporated.

A seventh embodiment of the present invention directed to a wirelesstrilateration system adapted for use in a cash processing centre isshown in FIG. 17. This example features a simplified cash processingcentre as described in relation to the first embodiment; however thewireless trilateration system may be expanded for use in a cashprocessing centre of any size or layout. Each area of the exemplary cashprocessing centre 106 has a number of wireless access points 1720. Inthe present example, two wireless access points are positioned in thedeposit 121 and order 131 processing areas and four wireless accesspoints are positioned within the vault processing area 121. The accesspoints are positioned so that an RFID device located anywhere within thecash processing centre will be able to communicate with at least threeaccess points at any one time. In the present example, the access pointsare connected to a wired Ethernet network 1730. This wired network 1730is connected to a location server 1710. The location server 1710 isconfigured to send data to and receive data from the access points 1720.

Location server 1710 is connected to the vault management server 210 viaa network comprising router 235A. Hence, the location server 1710 isintegrated into the vault management system in a similar way to the CCTVsystem shown in FIG. 8. The location server 1710 is also accessible froma remote client workstation 220C. This remote workstation 220Ccommunicates with the server 1710 via router 235B, WAN 245 and router235A. In certain embodiments of the present invention the locationserver 1710 may be incorporated within the vault management server 210rather than being incorporated in separate hardware as shown in FIG. 17.

Articles to be tracked within the cash processing centre are typicallyequipped with an RFID device. These articles may comprise one or more ofcages, guns, employees, bullion, trays, containers, cash bundles,trolleys, banknote sorters, and any other equipment used within the cashprocessing centre. Each RFID device is designed to communicate with theaccess points 1720 forming the wireless LAN. In use, due to the carefulpositioning of the access points within the cash processing centre, eachRFID device should be able to communicate with at least three accesspoints.

In the present example, the RFID device is adapted to emit a radiofrequency signal or “chirp” containing a unique device identifier atpredetermined intervals. For example, the RFID device may emit a numberof bits comprising the device MAC address at 20-second intervals. Thissignal or chirp is detected by any access points within range of theRFID device. Each of the access points within range then processes thereceived signal or chirp and forwards a message comprising the detectedsignal strength of the received signal and the unique device identifierto the location server 1710 over network 1730. The location server 1710is then adapted to use the received signal strength and deviceidentifier from at least three access points to calculate the positionof the RFID device and hence calculate the location of the article ofinterest. Typically, this is achieved by calculating the distance of thetagged object from the at least three receivers based on the signalstrength and known signal attenuations over a set distance. The positionof the object can then be found using standard geometry. Using such asystem articles can typically be located to within 0.5 meters.

In an alternative embodiment, directional antennas may be used in atriangulation system to detect the position of a tagged object. In thiscase only two directional receivers need be used. When a “chirp” isreceived from a tagged device each receiver records the direction inwhich the “chirp” has a maximum measured power or intensity. Two anglesare then calculated from the directions detected by both detectors andthese angles are used together with the known distance between thedetectors to calculate the position of the object. Such a system couldoperate on similar hardware to that shown in FIG. 17.

In the present example, the calculated location is used to update alocation database 1715. Location database 1715 may comprise an objectorientated database comprising a collection of object recordscorresponding to each of the tagged articles within the cash processingcentre. Each object record may be indexed and retrieved using the uniquedevice identifier of the RFID device attached to each article. Eachobject record also has a location property. This location property maybe given as a 2-dimensional coordinate corresponding to a locationwithin the cash processing centre. To enable real time or near real timemonitoring of articles within the cash processing centre this locationproperty may be updated at predetermined intervals using the calculatedlocation information.

FIG. 18 illustrates how the location server 1710 and location database1750 are used to track articles within a cash processing centre. FIG. 18shows an example client terminal or workstation 1840. This workstationcould be remote workstation 220C as shown in FIG. 17. The workstation1840 runs a location module that operates as part of the vaultmanagement system. This location module comprises a client applicationthat operates upon the workstation 1840 and that communicates with thelocation server 1710 to provide location information. In alternativeembodiments the client application may instead communicate with thevault management server 210, wherein the vault management server 210 inturn communicates with the location server 1710. The client applicationmay be an Internet or “web” browser adapted to communicate with one ormore of the location server or the vault management server acting as anInternet or “web” server.

The location module displays a schematic plan 1810 of the cashprocessing centre on a suitably designed graphical user interface. Thelocation of various articles 1820 and 1830 are then superimposed on thisplan 1810. This may be achieved by retrieving the location property of agiven article from the location database 1715. In FIG. 18 a firstarticle 1820 is shown as being located in the deposit processing area131 and a second article 1830 is shown as being located in orderprocessing area 121. The icons associated with each article may thenmove around the schematic plan 1810 in real-time as the locationproperty of each object is updated by the location server 1710 (or nearreal-time depending on the update interval). The location module mayfurther be adapted to alert an operator when a selected article travelsto an unauthorized area, for example outside of the building limits. Thelocation system shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 may also by integrated withcash in transit (CIT) tracking and GPS (Geographical Positioning System)data to provide the real or near real time geographic location of adeposit or a cash bundle. For example, such data may be displayed on athird party mapping system that provides schematics maps of the area orcountry of operation. This mapping system may also provide a map of thecustomer's premises, the cash processing centre, and any stop off pointsalong the route of the CIT operator. The history of when a particularRFID tag was scanned and detected may also be added to the location mapusing transfer or detection event information stored in central database215. By processing location data collected over time, average timings oftransport and standard routes both inside and outside the cashprocessing centre may be established. Security alarms may then be raisedif an article is detected as deviating from an established route.

An RFID badge for use in tracking employees or operators using themethods described above is shown in FIG. 16. The badge 1610 comprises aphoto of the employee 1618 and a clip 1670 for attaching the badge 1610to the employee's clothing. Inside the badge (as represented by dottedlines 1690) is located an antenna 1620, a controller 1630, a powersupply 1660, and memory 1650. The antenna 1620, controller 1630 andmemory 1650 operate in a similar manner to the passive RFID tag shown inFIG. 14, however in the present case power supply 1660 allows a strongersignal to be emitted by antenna 1620 and more advanced processing to beperformed by controller 1630. Even though the badge in FIG. 16 isdescribed as using active RFID methods, it is also possible to use theapparatus of FIG. 14 to produce a passive RFID badge. Each RFIDcontroller 1630 may then be adapted to communicate with at least threeaccess points 1720 within the cash processing centre to locate theemployee.

As well as tracking employees around the cash processing centre the RFIDbadges may also be used to recognize the presence of an employee infront of a workstation. When an employee enters a location range infront of a particular workstation the vault management system may beadapted to compare the identity of the employee, their present locationand their security status to automatically log them on to the vaultmanagement module relevant to their job with the cash processing centre.Alternatively the RFID badge 1610 may be swiped or passed underneath anRFID reader to log in and out of the vault management system on a clientworkstation. RFID cards may also be used with biometrics and fingerprintidentity systems. By combining the RFID badge with one or moreadditional security systems a manager can be confident that onlyauthorized users may access the vault management system and thus beconfident of the integrity of any information being inputted into thesystem. Data associated with the location of the employees may also beused to track employees working hours.

Any of the methods described in this specification may be implemented insoftware using known software development techniques, in dedicatedhardware using appropriately configured logic units or in programmablehardware adapted to process digital instruction sets.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a plurality of articles of value within a cash processing centre comprising: sorting a plurality of articles of value according to one or more predetermined criteria using a sorting device; recording data corresponding to properties of the sorted articles of value; strapping the plurality of sorted articles of value with a strap that is physically coupled to a radio frequency identification device to produce a strapped bundle; and electronically associating the data corresponding to the properties of the sorted articles of value with data corresponding to the radio frequency identification device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: strapping a plurality of strapped bundles with a strap that is coupled to a further radio frequency identification device; and electronically associating data corresponding to the properties of the plurality of strapped bundles with data corresponding to the further radio frequency identification device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: electronically associating data corresponding to the radio frequency identification device with additional data comprising one or more of: a date of strapping or processing, a time of strapping or processing, an operator in charge of strapping or processing, details of the sorting device, details of the strapping device, details of the sorting performed and the area where sorting was performed.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of electronically associating data comprises: reading an identifier associated with the radio frequency identification device; and generating a data record comprising the properties of the sorted articles of value and any optional additional data, the data record being indexed by the identifier.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of electronically associating data comprises: writing data corresponding to the properties of the sorted articles of value and any optional additional data to memory coupled to the radio frequency identification device using a radio frequency writing device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: retrieving data corresponding to the properties of the strapped articles of value and any optional additional data by reading data corresponding to the radio frequency identification device using a radio frequency reader.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the data is retrieved from a database record.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises: sealing the strapped articles of value within a container; and retrieving data without unsealing the container by reading data corresponding to the radio frequency identification device from outside the container using a radio frequency reader.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the retrieved data is used to check a customer order before accepting a delivery of the articles of value.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise one or more of: denomination, currency, fitness, issue and banknote recycling framework (BRF) type.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the articles of value comprise banknotes.
 12. An apparatus for sorting and grouping a plurality of articles of value comprising: a processing unit adapted to sort the plurality of articles of value and to generate processing data; a strapping unit adapted to strap a plurality of sorted articles using a strap, the strap being physically coupled to a radio frequency identification device; and a controller configured to associate the processing data corresponding to a strapped plurality of articles of value with data associated with the radio frequency identification device coupled to the strap used to group the plurality of articles of value.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: a radio frequency scanning device adapted to read data from a radio frequency identification device.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: a second strapping unit to further strap a plurality of previously strapped articles of value. 